FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA
1550 ZULU
Lieutenant Tali Mayfield looks at the young woman on the witness stand. She then looks at the defendant, Gunnery Sergeant Leeka.
Facing back towards the witness, she asks, "Describe the history of your relationship with Gunnery Sergeant Leeka."
"Ma'am," says the woman on the witness stand, "it all started when I joined the ROTC. On the first day, he would make these remarks."
"What kind of remarks?" asks the lieutenant.
"Remarks about my body."
"Did the gunnery sergeant coerece you into a sexual relationship?"
"Yes"
"How?" asks Mayfield.
"He told me he would have me kicked out of the program if I didn't sleep with him," she replies uncomfortably. "If I was kicked out of ROTC, then my scholarship is through and I would be kikced out of college. That first time, I just froze as he took off my clothes. I kept praying this would be over. He did this to me over and over again. He threatened to hurt me if I told anyone."
"Is that man in this courtroom?"
"Yes, he is sitting over there."
"Let the record show that the witness is referring to the defendant, Gunnery Sergeant Leeka," says Lieutenant Mayfield.
"So noted," says the judge.
"No further questions, your Honor," says Mayfield.
"Your witness?" asks the judge.
Captain Carlos Bullrider approaches the witness.
"How good of a student are you?" the Marine captain asks.
"Uh, pretty good," says the witness.
"Pretty good you say?" asks Bullrider. "I have here your official trsnscripts from your school, courtesy of a federal subpoena. Care to tell the court your GPA?"
"Uh, well...," she begins to say.
"Okay then, is it less than, equal, or greater than two point o?"
"Answer the question," commands the judge.
"Less than," admits the witness.
"You were not only underperfomring in ROTC, you were underperfomring in your math and American literature classes. You were placed on academic probation. Who was it that convinced the school to allow you to remain?"
"Gunnery Sergeant Leeka."
"What did he do?"
"He spoke with the administrators. Listen, he told me the would get me out of trouble if I slept with him."
"So Gunnery Sergeant Leeka was not responsible for your poor grades. His evaluation of your performance in ROTC is accurate, correct?"
"Yes."
"And you were about to be kicked out of school, so you offered to sleep with him in exchange for favors."
"No!"
"And you accused him of coercion so you would not get expelled," says Captain Bullrider.
"Objection," says Lieutenant Mayfield. "Counsel is answering his own questions and leading the witness."
"Sustained," says the judge.
"Withdrawn," says Captain Bullrider.
"Witness may step down," says the judge. "Court will recess for one hour."
The people leave the JAG courtroom.
"I can;t believe the questions that Captain Bullrider asked her," says Mayfield.
"I'm not surprised," replies Lieutenant Gregory Vukovic. "I would have asked those myself if I were defense counsel."
"That sort of thing should stop."
"We do what we can to discredit the other side's witnesses," replies Vukovic as they walk along the tiled floor of the hallway. "If you are to be a dedicated public defender, you've got to be aggressive."
A young man in a white Navy uniform stands in front of them and hands Lieutenant Mayfield a folder.
"Here is the file you wanted, ma'am," says the sailor.
"Thank you, Seaman Culp," says Lieutenant Mayfield. "As you were."
"Yes, ma'am," replies Seaman Culp, an enlisted aide at JAG Headquarters.
Mayfield looks through the folder. "Let's see how we can salvage our witness's credibility," she says.
oooooooooooooo
U.S. DISCIPLINARY BARRACKS
FORT LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS
1722 ZULU
Commander Sturgis Turner and Commander Meg Austin arrive at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. The disciplinary barracks holds over a thousand prisoners confined here by general courts-martial.
A man in an Army dress uniform greets the two Navy lawyers. His cap fits over the short dark hair of his head.
"Hello there," he says. "I am Major David Neikos, staff judge advocate for Leavenworth."
Sturgis and Meg introduce themselves to the major.
"Let me escort you inside, sir and ma'am."
Major Neikos leads them into the building. Sturgis and Meg receive security badges from the MP's stationed here. They walk through the tile-floored hallways, passing soldiers and civilian specialists.
"The meeting is at 1300. We can meet with the prison commandant."
Major Neikos leads them through hallways into the office of the commandant. The office's floor is covered in a green carpet. There is a desk in the back and a bookcase on the right. A U.S. Army colonel sits behind the desk.
"Sir, these are the lawyers from the Navy JAG conducting the inquiry into Kevin Miller's petition," says the major.
Sturgis and Meg salute the colonel and then introduce themselves.
"This is the first time I ever participated in such a thing," sats the colonel.
"Tell us about Kevin Miller, sir," says Sturgis.
"He's certainly is not a model prisoner," says the colonel. "He has been involved in five assaults on other inmates and guards during his stay here. I think he's a dangerous prisoner. I can not support his early release."
"Thank you, sir," says Meg. "Your statement is appreciated."
ooooooooooo
It is time for the meeting.
"So who's Kevin Miller's counsel?" asks Meg.
"Michael Gooding," says Major Neikos. "He was an Army JAG lawyer, retired lieutenant colonel. He set up practice in Topeka. He was assigned here a couple of years back. Kevin Miller hired him after he was approached by the lawyer for Miss Pullman."
"Did he know he had a daughter out there?" asks Sturgis.
"He knew one of his victims became pregnant as a result of his attack. He never knew what happened until recently."
After having their ID's and badges checked by the guards, they enter a small room. Inside the room is a table with chairs.
Three men enter the room. One is a man wearing a suit. The other is a man in an Army BDU. And the third is a man in an orange jumpsuit, wearing handcuffs.
"So you must be the negotiators," says the man wearing the handcuffs.
"You must be Kevin Miller," says Sturgis.
"That's right, Commander."
Kevin Miller sits down. The man in the suit also sits down.
"Michael Gooding," says the man in the suit. "I am Mr. Miller's attorney in this matter."
"So you are trying to get him a pardon," says Meg.
"Mr. Miller is being asked to donate his kidney," says Gooding. "I am here to negotiate for a favor in return."
"Even if it is something we would not want to give?" asks Meg. "Only the President can issue a pardon, and you must realize how unlikely it is."
"Maybe you can offer something else," says Gooding.
"Tell us," says Meg. "Do you fel remorse what you did seventeen years ago?"
"For what?" asks Kevin Miller. "All I did was make women out of a bunch of girls."
Meg looks at him with fury in her eyes. It takes all of her will just to kweep from choking him here and now.
"You don't even remember their names," says Sturgis.
"You should try to be more tactful, Kevin," says Michael Gooding.
"Admiral Calavicci has decided to make an offer," says Meg. "He can reduce your sentence by ten years. And you can be transferred to a mimimum security brig. It won't look too much different than a boot camp. There will be a lot less restrictions on your movement. and it won't require authorization from the President."
"This is a generous deal," Michael Gooding says to his client. "An extra ten years of freedom."
"Why wait ten years to get outa here when I could get a pardon?" says Kevin Miller. "Donatin' a kidney is major surgery, and I'm gonna need montly visits to our VA hospitals."
"Leavenworth isn't an igloo in the Antarctic," says Meg. "There is almost no chance of the President pardoning you."
"If you guys found another donor, you wouldn't even be here," says Kevin Miller.
"The girl almost died yesterday," says Sturgis. "If she dies, then you get nothing."
"Let me make this clear, Commander," says Kevin Miller. "If I don't get a pardon, she dies. It's as simple as that."
"Then we have nothing further to discuss," says Meg. "Let us know if you take the admiral's offer." She and Sturgis gets up and leave.